10 Elements of a Great Kids' Church Program

Facilitating Kids Ministry is hard - but does it have to be? There are some specific things that you can do to level up your Children's Church in ten ways that matter. Include these elements to turn your Sunday School from mediocre to great.

If you don't feel like reading, watch the short version of the post on my Youtube Channel!

I've spent over a decade doing kids, youth, and toddler ministry in various settings, and these are my all-time favorite, most important pointers for anyone struggling to get their kids' program to work. Let's get right to it!

1/10 START RIGHT

When kids are dismissed (I hate that word) from big church, they often run into the kids' space, playing, chatting, and going wild. I served at a church once where the kids even came into the Sunday School classroom before church, pulling toys from shelves and making a big mess everywhere.

These things matter! Later, when the teacher wants to start the lesson, the kids are already riled up, and it's really tough to reset their moods.

This is what you could do instead:

1. Instead of letting the kids run out of the big church, have them come to the front where the whole church family can see them. Do a short announcement: "Praise God for our kids. Today, they will learn about the Fruit of the Spirit. Join me in praying over them: God, may these children learn about You today. Amen."

2. Then, walk with them to the space where you have your kids' church. Make a new rule where they have to line up at the door / before entering. Our kids' ministry was outside for many years, so we all made a big circle holding hands to begin. Wait for everybody to stand in line or circle up before you start anything.

3. Next, I would clap my hands or do something to get their attention. "Hey everybody, welcome to kids' church! My name is ___ and I'll be teaching you today about the Fruit of the Spirit*."

*Note: In this example, I've already told the kids what they'll be learning about twice. Repetition, repetition, repetition.

Element of Kids Program: Start with structure.

2/10 TELL THEM WHAT THE PLAN IS

Children always bump into invisible walls. But when the plan or boundary is clear, it's much easier for them to thrive inside the parameters.

I love to start my time with a group by giving them an idea of what to expect:

While your parents are in big church for the next hour, we will spend some time here together. We'll do a memory verse, a song, a snack, a Bible lesson, and end with a game. You can go to the bathroom during snack time. Any questions?

If they know what's coming, it's easier for them to go through the program. They're not tossed back and forth, but they have a direction of where you're going with things.

When was the last time that you were in an unfamiliar environment, at the mercy of someone else? Maybe you went to the doctor or went to dinner at a new friend's house. The kids step into your time together with the big question: What's next? And most of the time, we don't realize this, and they're just expected to be okay with having no idea what's going on.

Studies have shown that kids do better when parents give them a heads-up when something's about to change. In the setting of your children's ministry, this might look like saying: After 5 more minutes of this game, we will transition into snack time.

Element of Kids Program: Tell them what the plan is.

3/10 ACKNOWLEDGE EACH INDIVIDUAL

The challenge of kids' ministry is that we have no idea what's going on in a child's life during the week. Often, the louder children take up so much of our attention that we don't even get the chance to chat with each one of them.

A simple way of making sure that each person feels seen and valued is to start with a name game. (If your group is too big, split into smaller groups for this.) Our names carry real value.

Calling someone by their name helps them feel seen and welcomed.

A name game could be that each person says their name, and the class responds with "Hello!". It's important that the group responds after each individual speaks, otherwise, you'll lose their attention.

Side note: I'm also a big fan of giving each kid a name tag. Even if you know their names, it helps them to get to know each other. Furthermore, it helps the rest of the congregation to get to know the children in your church family.

One of my go-to games is that the kid says their name and the name of an animal that starts with that same letter. Then the whole group responds by making that animal's sound. Example: Boy - My name is Mike... and um... an animal that starts with an M is a MonkeyGroup - Ooh-ooh ah-ah!

Element of Kids Program: Call each child by their name.

4/10 FACILITATORS NEED TO PARTICIPATE

Linking to the animal sounds example above - Kids' ministry can be a terribly awkward place (with older kids). They could just give you the stink-eye or cross their arms when you try to tell them to do something.

My biggest response to this kind of behavior is that it's never your aim to embarrass a growing child. They already deal with a lot of insecurity and identity development.

The aim of an ice-breaker, game, skit, or class leader is never to single someone out or laugh AT them. But we can laugh together! We get to have lots of fun together because God fills us with joy!

You've got to be silly with them. You can absolutely never just ask them to do stuff like that, without engaging too. I always go first! My name starts with an E, so I normally choose an elephant and make a loud trumpet sound! If you break the ice, the chances are good that they'll follow your lead.

I struggled at one point with kids church volunteers / helpers who would be on their phones and just chat with each other (versus engaging with the kids). The kids won't do the dances, play the games, or listen to the lesson if it's not modeled for them.

Element of Kids Program: Volunteers who participate!

5/10 CHOOSE A PROGRAM (AND STICK WITH IT!)

For my first few years leading a kids' ministry at church, it always felt like I had to drag the kids along to the next activity. Then, I printed out our program and stuck it on the wall. For the younger ones, we even did a program with pictures at one point.

Eventually, the kids knew that when the icebreaker was done, they could move to the sandpit area for worship. It was amazing to see how the kids who have been in our church for longer even stepped up as leaders and helped visitors / new friends settle into the next activity.

Element of Kids Program: Get a Clear Program / Flow of Events.

6/10 NOTICE ENERGY LEVELS

By paying attention to the energy levels of the kids in your group, you get to work with them instead of against them.

If it's been a busy time for families - like school holidays or even exams - you can ease up on the program for that week and flow with them.

Remember, the goal is not merely to tick the box of doing church or getting through your curriculum. We want kids to view church (and God) as a positive experience. On an even deeper level, I've often designed programs to take the kids through different energy levels. Certain activities that are high energy (like games) are done first, then something medium energy (like a Bible memory verse) is done to help them settle down before we get to the lower energy part (the lesson). This way, they're actually tired enough to sit down and listen for a while.

Element of Kids Program: Paying Attention to Energy Levels.

7/10 INVEST IN A GOOD CURRICULUM

Children struggle to listen to a long reading from Scripture. While kids' ministry is not supposed to just be entertainment, it is important to teach kids in ways that are relevant, captivating, and fun.

If possible, invest the time to write a unique lesson tailored to your group. But if that's not the option, there are some great resources and curriculums for children's church that you can buy.

I have lots of free Sunday School lessons on this blog & I offer a service where I can write a custom curriculum for your kids' church's unique needs.

Would you want to go to church if the pastor / minister didn't put any effort into the sermon?

I've seen kids who go from crying and clinging to their parents, saying "I don't want to go to kids' church" to being the first one out the door as soon as kids are released from the big church. Effort matters, and the children you're shepherding deserve to learn about God in ways that are creative and touching.

Element of Kids Program: Get a good, Bible-based lesson plan.

8/10 BRING IN REINFORCEMENTS

One of the greatest criticisms against kids' church is that it's merely babysitting, and the kids don't actually learn anything. Sunday School is juxtaposed with "big church", even when we don't have the budget, full-time staff, or fancy schmancy equipment.

But what if we had a growth mindset when thinking about this problem? Your children's ministry is one part of your church's service. It's not a separate thing standing on its own, it is part of the bigger whole.

I almost shocked every person around the table at our church staff meeting when I (the kids worker) listed 5 ways that the others can help me that week.

It's not uncommon for the pastor to call all hands on deck, but kids' ministry is often 50% of the church's membership, and it deserves the same attention.

As the ministry leader, you need to address this problem with an active approach. You're not supposed to carry this on your own. I might have asked the staff to help me with things like:

• Write an encouraging note for a kids' volunteer

• Take the speaker in to get it repaired

• Help find 1 person to help in the baby area on Sunday

Element of Kids Program: Ask for Help!

9/10 DON'T WASTE A GAME

It is common in most Sunday School settings that there's a time of play in your program. For many years, I just played whatever games I knew with the kids. We did the basics a million times, think freeze-dance and stuck in the mud!

But then I stopped and asked myself: What if we bring more intentionality to this? Now, the games that I plan are linked to the lesson in some way. Here's an example:

If they're learning about how Moses parted the Red Sea, why not play a game like 'open the gates' or something that links to the message? If the lesson is about having faith and listening for God's voice, do a blindfolded obstacle course where the rest of the group shouts instructions.

Element of Kids Program: Intentional Game or Play time.

10/10 GO WITH THE FLOW

This one is not a specific element, but it applies to all of them. If you know me, you'll know that this isn't my strong suit. When I worked as a Kids Ministry Leader, our pastor, Ricky, would always bend his index finger like a worm and tell me to practice my 'flexi finger'. It was a silly joke, but it helped me realize that when I'm working with kids, I need to loosen up.

Children are super sensitive to your mood, and it really is hard to have a good time when someone's being strict because they 'need to stick to the program'. Sometimes the Holy Spirit wants to do something different, and we're not seeing it because we are so stuck on what we're supposed to be doing.

One day, I was struggling to get the kids to focus on the Bible memory verse, because the worship inside the big church was so loud. They kept looking that way and getting distracted. But then I realized this is an important teaching opportunity too. I opened the space for them to ask any questions they had about worship, and we had a beautiful discussion. I remember they asked:

• Why does my mom cry when they worship?

• Why do people raise their hands?

• It sounds like heaven when they worship. Is God really there now?

Element of Kids Program: Flexible approach, working WITH the kids and not AGAINST them.

Reflection:

- Let me know in the comments, which of these you've tried out and how they worked. - Is there anything else you'd add to the list? Something that you've found is also a crucial element for a great kids' church program...

Until next time, may you abide in the Vine!